What good is an army without their commanding leader? In the interest of keeping things well ordered, Lor-Drek delegates his vice-marshal to lead the charge in his absence. Yes, VolcrotranTM has come and just about two weeks after Nar-Aja's arrival I have another evil snake fighter to add to my shelf.
We are finally starting to fill out the ranks of the Spektrosaur army and this 39th action figure prototype form PoliganToys will make this faction a force to take into serious consideration.
Details
Name: Volcrotran
Subtitle: snake warrior
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Relationships: husband of Nar-Aja
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Spektrosaur
Rank: vice-marshal.
Background
Volcrotran makes his only appearance in the seventh KR comic issue The siege of Erlokat, where he is presented as Lor-Drek’s loyal right-hand man. He was the first of Bi-Harr's soldiers to defect to the newly born Spektrosaur faction and worked with Lor-Drek to enlist as many warriors as possible. Once strong enough, the Spektrosaur army began a three-way war against the Therioms and the Rexodons, with Volcrotran leading many battles. Eventually, he was nominated second in command for his cunning military skills and married his fellow soldier Nar-Aja. After sounding his threatening rattle, Volcrotran wickedly poisons his enemies with dreadful snake bites.
Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a neck extension and a tail, both of which are ball jointed separate pieces. The tail features two articulation points, two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length.
Description
Head: similar to a viper, characterised by a triangular shape, dark-orange scaly skin, blue-green eyes with slit-shaped pupils and a closed mouth. He has a horned silver diadem adorned with a snake skull on the top of his head, and a snake-shaped silver ornament coiled around his neck, appearing to lengthen it. This neck ring is actually an extension piece that can be removed if one has will to display the figure without. Originally, Volcrotran was intended to have a scaly neck extension, but later he was equipped with the neck-ring instead, simply because it looked a more innovative element
Body: multicoloured scaly skin, claw hands and feet. His limbs are covered with keeled, imbricate dark-orange, dark-green and blueish scales arranged in a complex geometric pattern, similarly to an Atheris squamigera. Also, he has a long, slim dark-green (except for the underside that is blueish) tail, which is a separate piece emerging from the bottom edge of the armour and ends in a glossy turquoise rattle
Wearables: a golden armour with dark-blue details (the chest piece displays the Spektrosaur symbol, i.e., a greenish flame, at its centre), two golden bracelets, two golden calf protectors, a golden belt (whose large buckle resembles a viper head) and a dark-blue loincloth. The wrist guards are reused from Lor-Drek and are shaped to resemble a reptile head, while the shin guards and the loincloth look like made of large overlapping scales. |
| Volcrotran's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Spektrosaur symbol. |
Action feature
In the comics, Volcrotran is equipped with two enormous retractable fangs, which are almost as long as half the length of his body. These are normally concealed in his mouth and swing into biting position when his jaws open, to allow them to penetrate deep into an unfortunate enemy's body and inject large quantities of venom. So, the figure comes with an alternative head, whose jaws are wide open and bear few small sharp white teeth, except for a pair of substantially enlarged fangs pointing downwards. Interestingly, each fang shows a small forward-facing orifice near the tip, suggesting that the tooth is actually a hollow venom channel. Of course, there is also a forked tongue sculpted on the inside of the mouth.
Additionally, the figure makes a rapid succession of short, sharp knocking sounds when shaken, similarly to a rattlesnake.
Weapon and accessories
Aside from the alternative head, Volcrotran comes with a sword. This is going to be my favourite sword in the entire line, the guys at PoliganToys did a great job designing it. I love the dark-blue viper-head hilt and the long curvy, jagged silver blade. I don't know whether the shape of the blade (a combination of a falcata, a zulfiqar, and a harpe) is supposed to be reminiscent of a snake body or a reptile tongue; however, for me, it evokes a flash of lightning.
Overall, among all of the new prototypes that arrived this months, I think Volcrotran has been executed in the most spectacular fashion. Yes, he does have an unpronounceable name, but he is certainly one of those rare figures that hits on every level. The body sculpt is impressive and the paint deco absolutely stunning. He's just standout and pops on the shelf.
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